Level 1

3 points

ibooks store is only free books - all ancient classics

I can access the ibook site on my ipad, but all it displays is free books - mostly ancient classics.

How do I get books with a price? New books! I have an itunes account, as I have purchased many apps, so they must know who I am and who to send the bill to.

What is the problem here?

Message was edited by: ralfel

i-pad, Mac OS X (10.5.6), 65gb

Posted on Sep 27, 2010 6:35 AM

Top-ranking reply

Jolly Giant

Level 7

25,464 points

Posted on Sep 27, 2010 7:16 AM

ralfel wrote:
What is the problem here?

the problem may be that Apple hasn't obtained the rights to sell the +good stuff+ from the content-owners. i'm facing a similar problem over here in Germany - no English language books to be had.

my workaround is purchasing what i want from amazon.com and use the free [ kindle_|http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=kcp_ipad_mktlnd?docId=1000490441] on my iPad.

J GG

View in context

48 replies

Sep 13, 2011 12:04 AM in response to Marcus50c

Yes, I am also quite happy with Kindle on my iPad - have already purchased several books there. I really don't need iBooks at all anymore, but am keeping it on in case I want to reread Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky or Dead Souls by Gogol. But, if you're not into 19th-century classsics, I'd say get rid of it and get Kindle!

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,276 points

Oct 8, 2010 6:58 AM in response to vipernef

one of the reasons to buy the iPad was to get acces to books, and now I can't have it.

You are not tied to iBooks. Try the Kindle or Nook iPad apps instead.

turingtest2

Level 10

278,263 points

Sep 27, 2010 12:29 PM in response to ralfel

Well, if you are currently located in the UK you ought be able to load a UK gift card onto the account as your IP address will be based here. You're dealing with a crude solution to the problem of transnational copyright control and I guess, as yet, Apple haven't managed to secure an agreement for distibuting copyright content in Belgum, whether in Flemish, French or English.

tt2

Oct 25, 2011 11:24 PM in response to dmastag

I think you are confusing two things here: ibooks is an app supplied by Apple, and it only shows the ancient classics, for free. But the Kindle app is supplied by Amazon, and it really has a wide range of books that you pay for. So I would advise you to look under Amazon, not Apple.

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,276 points

Aug 7, 2011 3:40 PM in response to Kadena

Try using Kindle.app, Nook or Googlebooks instead.

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

122,276 points

Oct 23, 2011 6:05 AM in response to Mum2gr8twins

In stead of iBooks, try the other ereader apps like Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Googelbooks.

ralfel Author

Level 1

3 points

Sep 27, 2010 12:56 PM in response to turingtest2

onto the account as your IP address will be based here.

Its more complicated than that.

Bank in Germany, snail-mail address in Switzerland, current ip address in Holland, registered in Belgium, suitcase in France, working in Bulgaria.

Apple need to update their system so that it does not keep saying 'invalid' to - postcodes, towns, bank numbers, telephone numbers etc: etc:

Does it really matter that I still have a UK telephone? Why does Apple worry about this? Do they prefer that I have to make up fake numbers, to keep the system happy?

.

Sep 28, 2010 9:02 AM in response to turingtest2

Now you've got me worried. I bought and registered my iPad in the US (where I am) with a US credit card and address. But I'll want content with I'm in Bolivia (where I spend much of my time). Will they block that?

vipernef

Level 1

0 points

Oct 7, 2010 1:57 PM in response to ralfel

I am having the same problem, i got my mi Ipad in Paris France , but i live in Mozambique and i do not have access to the books store, only the classical free books. And because book stores here do not store much books, one of the reasons to buy the iPad was to get acces to books, and now I can't have it.

Regards

Oct 27, 2010 1:41 AM in response to vipernef

I seem to be having the same issue - in Australia.

I can't seem to find any decent books on iBooks.

Can someone help? I joined mypadmedia for $50 but is it worth it as I can only find the same free old Books? What am i doing wrong?

Thanks
Bron

Sam_P

Level 1

105 points

Oct 27, 2010 3:57 AM in response to Mum2gr8twins

I'm afraid it looks like you got scammed:
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=85587

Hopefully you will be able to find some information there how to get your money back. Perhaps, if you paid by credit card, you can get your bank/credit card company to do a chargeback.

See this article for Australian e-book vendors with universal (iPhone & iPad) apps:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2010/03/ebook-iphone-apps-could-make-the-ipad-the-chea pest-ereader-out-there/

Aug 6, 2011 11:22 PM in response to ralfel

I have exactly the same problem - I live in the Netherlands and all I can get here on ibooks are ancient classics....! Weird! Why doesn't Apple fix this problem? I thought we were part of the European Union? Ah well - I'll see if I can get the Kindle app, from what I read here it sounds like my best option...

Aug 7, 2011 12:45 AM in response to King_Penguin

Yes- by now I've downloaded Kindle, and have already bought a book from them, works fine and they appear to have a wide range of books. Perhaps the problem is that Apple is not (yet) as big in the Netherlands? Or they assume that Dutch people don't read much English anyway?

cck12

Level 1

0 points

Aug 11, 2011 6:11 PM in response to ralfel

I live in Hong Kong too. I got the same problem since I started using I iPad and iPhone last year. I turned to use Kindle instead. But I still hope I could make purchase through iBooks one day.

Why can't Apple obtain licences which are globally applicable? Valid only in US? Only US read English?

Aug 13, 2011 11:13 PM in response to estarbooks

Amy - I see your point (I think - not that familiar with the publishing scene) but then, why is Kindle able to put so many books online while Apple is not? Wouldn't Kindle have the same problem? Of course, they have been around a bit longer than ibooks; so maybe it's just a matter of time....

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ibooks store is only free books - all ancient classics